Tag Archives: dimensions

Netflix, Reviews, Television

NETFLIX REVIEW: DARK (2020) – SEASON 3 – AND SO CONCLUDES ONE OF THE BEST TV DRAMAS EVER MADE!

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NETFLIX REVIEW: DARK (2020) – SEASON 3

Created by: Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese

Written by: Jantje Friese, Ronny Schalk, Marc O. Seng, Martin Behnke, Daphne Ferraro

Directed by: Baran bo Odar

Cast: Louis Hofmann, Karoline Eichhorn, Lisa Vicari, Maja Schöne, Stephan Kampwirth, Jördis Triebel, Andreas Pietschmann, Paul Lux, Moritz Jahn, Christian Hutcherson, Oliver Masucci, Peter Benedict, Gina Stiebitz, Deborah Kaufmann, Daan Lennard Liebrenz, Julika Jenkins, Carlotta von Falkenhayn, Tamar Pelzig, Dietrich Hollinderbäumer, Mark Waschke, Leopold Hornung, Christian Pätzold, Will Beinbrink, Hermann Beyer, Christian Steyer, Lisa Kreuzer, Anne Ratte-Polle, Walter Kreye, Lydia Maria Makrides, Tom Philipp, Nele Trebs, Tatja Seibt, Lea van Acken, Shani Atias, Max Schimmelpfennig, Ella Lee, Peter Schneider and many more.

Composer(s): Apparat, Ben Frost

Executive producer(s): Justyna Müsch, Jantje Friese, Quirin Berg, Max Wiedemann, Baran bo Odar,

Cinematography: Nikolaus Summerer

Original Network: Netflix

***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

“Time is an illusion.” ― Albert Einstein

And so the end is nigh, and we reach the final season of uber-drama, DARK. If you have Netflix and you like to have your mind scrambled and heart moved, then I urge you to watch it. It is easily one of the best television dramas I have seen in a long time. It’s edgy, nightmarish, confusing, twisted and to be honest, virtually unreviewable. I say that because I don’t want to give away any spoilers but, trust me, if you like emotionally, structurally and artistically complex plots involving multiple characters, locations and timelines then this German thriller is for you. It had me confused in a good way and totally immersed in the plot and characters. You will be lost, searching for the light, yet you will be astounded too by the audacity of the writing, direction and looping insanity of the show.

Time, space and dimensional rifts are central to the drama. The cycles of life and death are also integral within the fabric of DARK. The action occurs in the German town of Winden as the narrative entwines the past, present and futures of four families: Kahnwald, Nielsen, Doppler, and Tiedemann.  One could argue that the state of Saṃsāra is invoked as a key theme. Saṃsāra is a fundamental concept in all Indian religions. It is linked to the karma theory, and refers to the belief that all living beings cyclically go through births and rebirths. The term is related to phrases such as the cycle of successive existence, including the karmic cycle or the wheel of life. What occurs within the twenty-six episodes of DARK is a cyclical lunar convergence of 33 years, taking place initially in 1987 and 2020. Well, that’s just in season one. From season two onwards things temporally twist beyond into other years on the cycle.

During season two and much of season three I was often lost with the various characters criss-crossing each other on different timelines and at various ages of their lives. I finally found some semblance of understanding in DARK, after much frustration and almost giving up, by distilling the events to the human strands of childhood, adulthood and old age. Like a moving vision of Titian’s painting, The Three Ages of Man, all the major characters, notably Jonas Kahnwald, Claudia Tiedemann and Ulrich Nielsen, feature in these three stages of existence. Interestingly, the programme events show they have different agendas and perspectives, with older versions either teaching their younger selves or acting as their own nemesis. Proving that existentially speaking life is ultimately a constant battle with oneself.

Temporal paradox is central also to DARK. More specifically, it features the Bootstrap Paradox. This refers is a theoretical paradox of time travel that occurs when an object or piece of information sent back in time becomes trapped within an infinite cause-effect loop in which the item no longer has a discernible point of origin. Indeed, closed causal loops, such as the Predestination Paradox or Bootstrap Paradox, find time running in a repeating circle. When such circles over-lap in DARK, conflict is derived in the story because certain characters are trying to keep the loops going and others are trying to destroy them.

Which brings us to another major theme of the drama, the death of the self and death of the world. With the spectre of Chernobyl hanging over the town of Winden, the nuclear power station becomes a central harbinger of catastrophe throughout the various cycles. In the early years it is a beacon of prosperity, energy and employment. In later years it is the precipitous location for the apocalypse. Lastly, philosophically the textual richness in DARK is endless. While temporally speaking the looping timelines can be confusing, the final season, while leaving many questions unanswered provides a satisfying closure to this extremely human story. Amidst the science fact and fiction and philosophical explorations of life and death this is ultimately a television series about family and community. Because as soon as the cracks begin to show in the family unit we are destined to fall through the fissures of destiny. Only together can we conquer fate; but only if time allows.

Mark: 10 out of 11

Cinema, New Releases, Reviews

CINEMA REVIEW: TENET (2020)

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CINEMA REVIEW: TENET (2020)

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Produced by: Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan

Written by: Christopher Nolan

Cast: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, Martin Donovan, Clement Poesy, etc.

Music by: Ludwig Göransson

Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema

***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

I am writing this review from the future while travelling backwards to the past to try and alter events which have yet to occur in the present. Confused yet? Jokes aside, Christopher Nolan’s latest temporally challenging and narratively inverted blockbuster, TENET (2020), is actually not as complicated as some would lead you to believe. However, that’s because I’ve been training my brain with such mind-boggling adventures in time, space and dimensions while watching the third season of the ingenious German sci-fi drama, DARK (2020), this week. Safe to say however, TENET is still rather complex and probably unnecessarily so. Yet, Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker who loves exploring challenging scientific concepts and marrying them to hugely involving plots and stylish spectacular action. All credit to him too for pushing himself and the audience!

TENET opens with a fast-paced set-piece located at a Ukrainian opera house. A SWAT team, that includes our unnamed hero, (John David Washington), is there to save a spy and obtain an unidentified object, which will of course become an integral part of the plot later or earlier on in the story. From then on, ‘The Protagonist’, as he later becomes known, becomes embroiled in stopping the megalomaniacal plans of Russian oligarch, Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh). In order to do so he attempts to infiltrate and stop Sator via his bullied wife, Kat (Elizabeth Debicki). Here the Protagonist builds a bond to Kat and this provides the emotional glue of the film. Although, I’ll be honest, I was too busy thinking about the machinations of Nolan’s head-twirling approach to temporal structure, than actually feel much for the characters.

What the film lacks in emotional depth it more than makes up with spectacular action. There are at least six incredible set-pieces that involve hand-to-hand combat, fast-paced vehicle pursuit, bungee-jumping and all-out combat between various government and mercenary factions. Nolan and his production team twist the action with a visually mirrored trick which, well I won’t say anymore. Moreover, the grandiose style and cinematography are eye-popping. Sharp suits, sharper knives and futuristic masks are adorned by the characters giving the spy thriller a hyperreal edge. Similarly, the stunts and editing are superbly orchestrated and executed. Having said that, the sound design and dialogue could have been better. Far be it from me to criticize, but in striving for verisimilitude in the sound, the constant wearing of masks meant important dialogue lacked clarity. Likewise, in the final amazing set-piece I was lost amidst the bodies and explosions as to who was who and why and what and how. Clearly a second and third watch of TENET (2020) is in order.

While the action was pretty much flawless throughout, the screenplay, unlike say Nolan’s prior high-concept masterpiece, INCEPTION (2010), did lack character depth for me. While I realise this was Nolan’s intention, hardly any time is given setting up the characters. So much so they become cyphers within the plot. Nonetheless, the charisma of the cast, notably John David Washington and the impressive Robert Pattinson, dominates the screen and the two bounce off each other magnetically. Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh also bring much to their roles, however their subplot involving domestic abuse felt out of place in such a post-modern spectacle. Moreover, Branagh’s oligarch was, in certain scenes, verging on parodic cliche. I wondered if the villain of the piece could have been a little less B-movie heavy at times and possibly more cultured. This is a minor gripe though. After all, he is the bad guy!

Ultimately, TENET (2020) is a big, brash and confident Bond-type film with bells on. Sure, the rules of the world could have been excavated and presented somewhat clearer. But, Nolan favours a breakneck pace and be damned if you cannot keep up. Indeed, I am certain he has covered all the plot-holes (or paradoxes) I thought I saw and numerous questions I had by the end. While it is not without flaws, on first watch, I once again have to congratulate Christopher Nolan for striving for original thinking and fascinating concepts within a genre film. One may even argue that there are too many ideas here and simplification could have created a more emotionally satisfying film. However, there are many moments of cinematic genius in TENET (2020), notably in the Sisyphean payoffs within the inverted plot structure. Finally, one won’t see a more shiny and beautiful looking film all year. The future is bright: the future is Christopher Nolan.

Mark: 9.5 out of 11